Curated OER
Sea Surface Temperature Trends of the Gulf Stream
Students explore the importance of the Gulf Stream. Using a NASA satellite images, they examine the sea surface temperature. Students collect the temperature at various locations and times. Using spreadsheet technology, they graph the...
Curated OER
The Effects of Temperature on Solids
Learners explore the effects that extreme temperatures have on the material properties of solids. They investigate the properties of a material whose state depends on extreme temperatures and witness how it interacts with room...
Virginia Department of Education
Heat and Thermal Energy Transfer
How does radiation affect our daily lives? Answer that question and others with a activity that discusses radiation and its use in thermal energy transfer through electromagnetic waves. Pupils investigate vaporization and evaporation...
American Chemical Society
Keeping Warm in the Cold
Bundle up to stay warm! A fun-filled investigation opens with a group discussion about heat loss and using materials to prevent it. Young scientists then view an animation about thermometers and the Celsius scale and practice reading...
Curated OER
Heat Unit
Students define thermal equilibrium. They distinguish between internal energy and heat. Students describe how the quantity of heat that enters or leaves a substance is measured.
Curated OER
Surface Air Temperature Trends of the Caribbean
Students investigate the seasonal changes to sea surface and near-surface air temperatures near the equator. They use actual satellite data to track and graph the differences in air and sea temperatures during different seasons in the...
Curated OER
Heat And Heat Transfer
Learners role play molecules in a container as the container is heated to develop a definition of heat and temperature. They also observe demonstrations of conduction, convection, radiation, and phase transfer. Using these observations...
Curated OER
Keep It Cool
Young scholars complete a science experiment to study insulation, heat transfer, and permafrost. For this permafrost study lesson, students design and test a soda insulator. Young scholars graph their class data and discuss the results....
Curated OER
Driving Currents
Learners conduct a variety of investigations to see how water, heat, and salinity affect the flow of the world's ocean currents,as well as, explore many factors that affect the flow of the world's ocean currents. They also describe in...
Curated OER
The Greenhouse Effect
Seventh graders investigate the temperature change in open and closed containers. In this earth science lesson, 7th graders relate this lab activity to greenhouse effect. They create a line graph from data collected in the experiment.
Curated OER
Sea Surface Temperature Trends of the Gulf Stream
Learners use authentic satellite data to produce plots and graphs of sea surface temperature as they explore the seasonal changes of the Gulf Stream.
Curated OER
The Effect of Rain on Morning Temperatures
Eighth graders study the effects of the water cycle. They create a graph of the air temperature versus solar radiation on a rainy and clear 24 hour period using data from a provided link. Afterward, they answer questions to determine the...
Curated OER
Changing State
Students examine the changing states of water. In this solid, liquid, gas lesson, students discover that water changes when heated or cooled. Students make predictions and then use the interactive whiteboard to "heat and cool" the water...
Curated OER
How Low Can You Go?
Fourth graders experience measuring temperatures after determining, by touch, whether water is hot or cold. They use a thermometers to measure the temperature of water in three cups of water. Using a vertical number line, they write the...
American Chemical Society
Evaporation
This is one in several lessons that explore the relationship between temperature and phase changes of water. After some discussion, elementary physical scientists place wet paper toweling on a hot and a room-temperature water bag and...
Space Awareness
Seasons Around the World
Why does Earth experience summer, fall, winter, and spring? Using an informative demonstration, learners see how the angle of the sun on Earth and the rotation of Earth determine the seasons. Scholars work in pairs to learn that the...
Cornell University
Investigating and Modeling Hardness
Model hardness testing with a self-designed hardness test. Young scholars rate the hardness of different types of aspirin using the Vicker's Hardness scale. They then relate hardness to the solubility of each aspirin tablet.
Curated OER
How Cool Is Your Environment?
Students study the formulas for calculating heat energy and how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit. They apply the formulas on a worksheet.
Curated OER
Science: Hurricanes As Heat Engines
Young scholars conduct Internet research to track the path of Hurricane Rita. They record the sea surface temperature of the Gulf of Mexico during and after the hurricane and draw conclusions about how hurricanes extract heat energy...
University of California
Hot! Hot! Hot!
Calories are not tiny creatures that sew your clothes tighter every night, but what are they? A science lesson plan, presented at multiple levels, has learners experiment with heat, heat transfer, and graph the function over time. It...
Virginia Department of Education
Metamorphic Rocks
Rocks can bend? Pupils investigate how heat and pressure produce metamorphic rocks by modeling them using clay, and then categorize samples based on observable characteristics. The lesson ends with a metamorphic rock identification...
Curated OER
How to Read a Thermometer
Students' temperature is measured using an instrument called a thermometer.
Curated OER
Water Cycle
Young scientists explore Earth elements by conducting an experiment. They define water vocabulary terms such as condensation and precipitation. In addition, they conduct a water experiment in which they build a terrarium, so they can...
Curated OER
Cloud Observations using GLOBE Protocols
Students observe which of ten types of clouds are visible and how much of the sky is cloud covered. They see that by observing clouds, we can get information about temperature, moisture, and wind conditions in different places in the...